


Mastermind

by Of_Lights_and_Shadows



Series: Magical Wars [3]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Gen, fear akashi, he's the true mastermind of things happening here, i wanted to write this one for so long
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-08
Updated: 2015-09-08
Packaged: 2018-04-19 19:41:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4758515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Of_Lights_and_Shadows/pseuds/Of_Lights_and_Shadows
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nijimura Shuuzou was sure this was all a bad dream. Why would he be present to another of these trials, and why was Seijuro having a smug grin plastered on his face, seeing his father being convicted for using illegal magic?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mastermind

Nijimura Shuuzou was never fond of anything that had to do with the law, and that had nothing to do with his previous occupation as Head of Teiko, a position he had relinquished to one of the core members of Kiseki, Akashi Seijuro.

**_(Despite his youth, the redhead had proved to be an ideal leader for both Mages of Kiseki and Neutrals of Teiko.)_ **

Akashi Masaomi. That was the person accused for using forbidden magic. A successful businessman and father to Akashi Seijuro, the man held his head high, prideful, as though he was the king of the savannah, and the rest of them were either followers, or prey. Shuuzou knew well that the son could never have a loving look for his father in his eyes; the redhead had stated so many times. He knows from Kuroko that Seijuro could be much different than he is now. Mages of two Great Houses are pitiful creatures, he had said once, and Akashi Seijuro is a prime example of that. His Great Houses are Knowledge and Control, the helpful nature of the former clashing with the latter's selfish one. Kuroko claims that, by following the path that intertwined those two different Styles together, he had given up on obtaining a more stable state of mind.

**_(Janus is the god of Conflicts, after all, and he chose to bless with his powerful name a boy who had waged war on his very mind, against himself.)_ **

Midorima Shintaro called it voluntarily choosing the most cruel fate possible. Your  _'other name'_ revealed itself during one's teen years, and it was bound to change, the same way your personality was still in the developing stages. Fate is bound to change as certain parameters change; nothing is set in stone.

 

And Shuuzou knows well, maybe a bit too well. He knows Akashi Seijuro has accepted it himself, the strain those two powerful Styles put on him. If he takes a glimpse towards those the redhead considers enemies, he can see it: He becomes a bit more cruel every day. He becomes cruel to those who stand against him, stricter to those he cares for. He knows well, Akashi Seijuro fears nothing more than being left behind.

He turns his focus back to the trial, and he can tell something has changed. He focuses on Akashi's father. The man, usually being calm during his past trials, looks anything back that. His face looks like a mask, trying desperately to mask whatever he's feeling. However, Seijuro is calm at the possibility of his father being imprisoned, and Shuuzou feels like his junior is more than welcoming of that outcome.

Akashi Masaomi is deemed guilty and taken away. The man glances at his son, betrayal evident in his expression, to which the young man replies with no words; a simple smug grin is enough to let him know that the whole thing was indeed orchestrated by Seijuro.

It takes no more than two moments for Seijuro to change his expression of that of a criminal mastermind to a kicked, mistreated puppy. The majority of people present in the trial don't care about Akashi Seijuro not one bit; but they do care what happens to the fortune he's leaving behind.

**_(Seijuro will be taking over, of course, even if there's some time until he turns 20 and finally comes of age.)_ **

To the vultures that reporters are, Akashi Seijuro looks like a child who was just told the Christmas gifts he receives is from his parents (a truth that the redhead knew ever since the tender age of seven, not that anyone needed to know about that). They're going to paint the portrait of a betrayed child, innocent and unknowing of his father's wicked deeds, the tragedy of a boy who lost his mother at the age of ten, and now is losing his father, as well.

However, Akashi Seijuro is far from what _Neutrals_ perceive as innocent. Not only he's a powerful Mage, perhaps the strongest of his generation, he wields the only one internationally forbidden Magic that, even though it's just his second-type, is just as strong. He's not suspected of it, since he's registered as a Clairvoyant, his first Magic, one that he inherited from his mother. He inherited his mother's kindness and his father's ambition. Up to this day, no one can tell if he's a wolf in sheep's clothing, or the opposite.

He nearly misses the Illusionist that approaches Akashi, so blindingly visible simply because he's standing next to the person all attention is drawn to. Just like his cousin, Kuroko Tetsuya is a practitioner of two Great Houses. Kuroko is registered as a Conjurer, even though he's more well suited as an Illusionist, the way he can go unnoticed, always another face in the crowd.

 

_"Akashi-kun."_ he whispers.

Seijuro nods. _"We're one step closer, Tetsuya. No one will stop us. I'll make sure of it."_

_"How cruel of you, Akashi-kun."_ he taunts. _"This is my plan as well. I can fool their senses just well; you focus on playing with their minds."_

A small smile forms on his lips at his cousin's words. _"That is true."_

 

Sometimes, Nijimura Shuuzou couldn't figure out if it was Akashi Seijuro or Kuroko Tetsuya the most cruel of the two.

**Author's Note:**

> Term explanation:
> 
> Neutral: A person of no magical inheritance/ability.  
> House of Knowledge: All Magic that centers in obtaining/gaining/offering information. Seers, Clairvoyants and Observers fall into this category.  
> House of Control: As the name implies, Magic that is about controlling/rearranging/tricking belong in this category, such as Elementalists, Illusionists, and Puppeteers.
> 
> Fun fact: In Japan, one is considered adult when they become 20.   
> This one takes place before _Gifts of a King_ but sometime after _What means to have Power_


End file.
